The Critic: Bike IndiaEditorAspiBhathenais a difficultman
to impress. He has beenaroundfora whileandhastesteda
spectrum of motorcyclesrightfromrawtwo-strokestomodern
machines packed withelectronics.Sincehehasracedat theIsle
of Man TT twice, thisis likea “homecoming”forhim.
They are riding theretro-coolRoyalEnfieldContinentalGT
650; a bike which wehaveriddeninSantaCruz(USA),then
closer to home in Goa,andnowwetakeit a notchhigher—on
the most demandingandhistoricracetrackintheworld...
As the three meetat theIOM,Aspipointsoutthatit’sgoingto
be a special day sincetheywouldberidinga historicmotorcycle
at a historic place. Freddieadds,‘I waslookingforwardtoriding
Royal Enfield bikes asweweretalkingaboutthecompany’s
history. Riding and developinga motorcycleis allaboutpassion.
It’s this passion and historythatbringsustogether.So,whenyou
bring that to the IsleofMan,thenit’sa greatday!’
This incredible MountainCourseis carvedoutoftheisland’s
public roads. Our threeheroeskitupandgetreadyat thestart-
finish line — excitedandraringtogeta tasteoftheiconic
60-kilometre track. TheyarethefirsttoridethenewRoyal
Enfield ContinentalGT 650 caféracersonthislegendary
racetrack as a tributetomotorcyclingbrotherhood.
Starting off at a cautiouspace,theridersgetfamiliarwiththe
retro machines, the track,andtheremarkableexcitementinthe
air which can only beexperiencedontheseislandroads.Asthey
quicken the pace, the three riders relish the thrill, at every corner.
And there’s no shortage of it, with nearly 200 turns on the
course. Every section is deeply steeped in history and the riders
encounter each one of them — Bray Hill, Quarterbridge,
Ballaspur,Cronk-y-Voddy,GooseneckandtheGuthrie’s
MemorialS-turncorner,namedafterthesix-timeIsleofMan
TTwinner,AndrewJamesGuthrie.Theytakea much-needed
coffeebreaktosoakit allin,shareexperiences,andgettheir
heartbeatsbackundercontrol.
Sippinga cuppa,Freddiereveals,‘Forme,comingtotheIsle
ofManis alwaysspecial.Theaverageracingspeedhereis
almost 135 mph (217.3 km/h), that too with two hairpin turns!’
Siddhartha is quick to add, ‘Now that I see up close what goes
on here... the condition, the road, the environment... it’s just
crazy. It’s absolutely gorgeous to ride here. So far as I amABove:
At the Joey
Dunlop memorial
at The Bungalow
on top of the
mountain‘What I really liked about the Continental GT 650 is
its agility, its character, and the fact that it’s fun’
—Freddie Spencer
http://www.bikeindia.in August 2019 Bike India 81